Anesthesiology Awards

LEXINGTON, Ky. (March 26, 2015) – Dr. John H. Eichhorn, professor of Anesthesiology and Provost’s Distinguished Service Professor at the University of Kentucky College of Medicine, authored a paper earlier in his career titled, "Standards for Patient Monitoring During Anesthesia at Harvard Medical School," which is named in the current issue of the prestigious journal, Anesthesia and Analgesia, as one of the top 20 most important articles in anesthesiology ever written.

The Anesthesia and Analgesia review of the most important articles cites papers dating back to 1846 when the use of ether was first demonstrated (No. 1 on the list). Eichhorn's report of the work of a committee he chaired starting in the mid 1980s at Harvard was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. It describes the development and implementation of practice standards and protocols that ultimately changed clinical behavior of an entire profession, and virtually eliminated intraoperative anesthesia catastrophes caused by human error.

The landmark paper was ranked No. 10 on the review list, and, as that article indicates, it was a real "game changer," the impact of which persists today around the world. As a result of career-long efforts to improve patient safety and quality of care in anesthesia, in 2011 Eichhorn received the John M. Eisenberg Patient Safety and Quality Award for Individual Achievement from the National Quality Forum (NQF) and the Joint Commission, the highest recognition there is in healthcare safety and quality.

“It was an exciting time back then,” said Eichhorn. “Some serious lapses in anesthesia care had led to severe patient injuries, and my group was directed to find a remedy. The solution required changing behaviors while also greatly improving on human senses in the OR by using what were then brand-new sensitive electronic technologies to monitor patients under anesthesia."

"It was the first example of creating published standards of practice specifically intended to change clinical behavior, Eichhorn added. "Fortunately, it worked, and since then to now, those practices are totally routine everywhere, every day. I speak also for my colleagues in stating we are very honored by this recognition.”

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Eugene Hesssel, MD Anesthesiology professor was recently selected by University of California/San Francisco School of Medicine Alumni Association as one of the recipients of the 2015 Alumni of the Year Award. Congratulations Dr. Hessel!

Two Anesthesiology faculty were awarded Abraham Flexner Master Educator Awards at the College of Medicine’s Academic Convocation and Awards Day in October 2014. This award, given by the Center for Excellence in Medical Education,

David Bacon M.D., Anesthesiology Resident, has been selected as our resident of the month for October2014. Nominated by a number of individuals at UK, the following was cited:

“Dr. Bacon exemplifies professionalism in all that he does. He puts patients first, practices by the ‘golden rule’. I have received multiple extremely positive comments from different services, a recent email from a bedside nurse commending his care, and patients want him as their physician. Dr. Bacon has excellent skills and also takes time to teach those around him. What a great representative of UK and our department of Anesthesiology.”

Dr. Deborah Rohner has been announced as the New Associate Medical Director for Patient Safety.

"Our effort to eliminate patient harm by process improvement is essential. Complications of care can be associated with patient harm, prolonged hospital stays and increased costs of care. Further, our patient safety environment is measured by many outside entities.

At UK HealthCare, the Patient Safety Team is comprised of a growing network of individuals that includes co-directors Kimberly Blanton and Dr. Eleftherios Xenos. Today, we are excited to announce that Dr. Deborah Rohner will be joining this team as an Associate Medical Director for Patient Safety. Deborah will focus her initial work on interventions to reduce patient complications in the pre- and post-procedure phases of care.

Dr. Rohner attended the University Of Cincinnati School Of Medicine and completed critical care medicine fellowship training at the University of Michigan. She has a strong background in patient safety having been actively involved in quality committees since 2010, initially at the University of Cincinnati then at UK. Deborah has already done great work at UK on peri-operative DVT prophylaxis, ICU delirium and post-operative respiratory failure. She is dedicated to improving the outcomes of our patients.

Two Anesthesiology faculty were awarded Abraham Flexner Master Educator Awards at the College of Medicine’s Academic Convocation and Awards Day on October 9, 2013. This award, given by the Center for Excellence in Medical Education,

Lori Kral, M.D. and Melanie Witte, M.D., Anesthesiology Residents, have been selected as our resident of the month for December 2012. Nominated by a number of individuals at UK, the following was cited: